Mission accomplished

This is an update to the post published in 5th February

I think one of the reasons they carry out the course in this isolated setting, apart from to do with the adventures, is to strip back all distractions from God and allow your heart and mind to focus on him and really open up.

My life is beginning to be transformed with the Holy Spirit and I think with the added use of meditation combined with solitude can be a great combination in gaining a better understanding of God. Quickly for those who don’t know: Meditation in the Christian translation is not like eastern religions where the aim is to empty the mind, but to fill the mind with Jesus and his power and really concentrate on him, listening to what he has to say. In the Bible Jesus also speaks of solitude, the act of sitting in complete silence and just hearing his word. We live in a world surrounded by noise and of a social media culture where ‘if you’re not always connected, you’re nothing’. So to most, acting in solitude can come across as a fear and a bad thing as many of us when stressed or in times of hardship, like to plug in their iPod and forget about the world. They don’t want to ‘own up’ and realise to any mistakes and it would mean that they may have to deal with them straight away and not let it prolong.

This is why Jesus calls us to act in both these days was you can set your eyes upon him and have a 1-2-1 relationship, not you, Jesus, phone, ipod, noise and distractions as well. My best advice if anyone were to try and gain a better understanding from him and to hear his word would be to try and find an hour a week out of your busy noisy schedules, to sit home alone, go for a walk in the park, even sitting in your car when in traffic as long as it’s just you and Jesus, I guarantee with practice and devotion you will hear him better than before.

So as some you may know from my last blog I carried out a fast from Monday to Friday last week and I must say it’s easier than you think. As said earlier, Jesus is the only one who can fully sustain us in every way and fill us up to overflowing. Because of this, I believe that he sustained me throughout those five days and I can certainly say I did not eat once. Sure it wasn’t easy, by day two I was struggling with trying to hold myself back from automatically grabbing a crisp every time I went into the kitchen. It also didn’t help that I was the only one doing it, therefore everyone else was eating in my face, however no one said it would be easy and there is no point in even doing this if you are not ready to want to commit to God more. I prayed for a list of things over those days, unlike others who tend to concentrate and blitz one topic. My main prayer that I prayed every time, however, was to meet with God and hear his voice and God revealed him to me in many ways. Building a better, stronger and more powerful relationship with God is key to living life to the full and living in his glory, you should never be satisfied in your relationship and should always seek his word.

Advice for fasting:

• If you’re thinking about fasting, I recommend a short 24/36hr to begin with so you can get a feel of what you’re getting yourself into and not fail at the first hurdle.
• Only fast for a long period of time E.G five days if you hear God calling you to, as it is God that sustains you, so fasting without being sustained by God can be more of a challenge.
• Before the start of the fast, most will think they need to have a huge meal in order to try and last longer. This simply does not work and can make it harder, so have lighter bites a day or two before the start.
• Get others to fast and pray with or for you too, as this can be beneficial to multiple people if you are going through fasting in some way together.
• Every time you hear your stomach rumbling, it is not you starving and wasting away, just your stomach used to at that time releasing digestive juices to process the food that would be there. To solve this, simply go away and pray and for me anyway, the hunger subsided and I felt better and more energized.
• On the note of hunger pains, hunger symbolises the daily habits you think you need to survive, when the voluntary denial of this is for the sake of intense spiritual activity which will sustain you. 
• Breaking the fast, start with a smaller portion than you would of soft foods such as fruit or vegetables, due to your stomach will have decreased in size and need to get used to taking food again. 
• Lastly, no one said it was going to be easy, if it was everyone would do it and it wouldn’t be valued as much. Keep pushing and praying for God’s presence and you will get the answers you need.

I hope this helps anyone who had any questions on this topic; I understand to some it may be a bit heavy. This course really engages you with all aspects of the Christian faith and allows you to grow in ways in which in the past you thought weren’t possible.

In other news, snowboarding once again was great, however it cooled down to lows of -28, therefore boarding wasn’t the best conditions. At the end of February we will be travelling to Banff park reserve in which we will hike, and snowboard in some of the most spectacular conditions and environments, because of this we are hitting the gym hard and improving in our boarding skills to be able to cope – It’s a hard life!

During free time we’re collectively thinking up of more creative games to play, the latest is ‘AlphaSheep’ where when said to another member, the two individuals will do a lap of the house, winning by any means necessary, can get every violent as usual and you don’t even wanna know what AlphaFlock is! We are also re-furbishing the church’s youth/kids room down in the basement, which involves moving furniture, and painting and decorating. We’re going for a beach seaside theme. I have got more involved within the youth at the church too, as kids club is every Thursday and I have volunteered every week in helping kids 8-13 learn and play. As the 6 Nations are on, our team did a sweep stake. The rewards and punishments go like the following: Every match the losing team’s representative has to do as many press-ups as the difference in score x10 E.G If my team lost 25-20; I would have to do 50 press-ups. Plus the winner gets to hit you with a duct tape rolled up newspaper. The overall loser of the 6 nations will get 3 wax strips to their legs, done by the winner. Josh has Scotland and I have Italy, therefore it will most definitely be one of us who gets waxed!

Next week we will be travelling to Kananaskis, a region west of Calgary to hike (as always) with snow shoes, snow camping and what I’m most looking for, ICE CLIMBING! I am leaving next Monday and coming back next Friday and should get some awesome pictures.

PS: BEWARE! On Saturday I passed my Gun/Firearms Safety exam, approach me with extreme caution I am having lots of fun with all sorts of weapons!